The Rise And Fall of the Shinra Electrical Power Company
by Light The Visionary
Summary: Not a story, but a comprehensive essay on the history of Shinra. Completely canon, though there's a lot of content most people don't know about. Includes the Jenova Project and Jenova Reunion Theory.


_Notes- Before I start this I'd like to say where the inspiration for this particular essay came from. Simply put, it was my university exams. I'm changing my course next year and found myself in a position where many dream of- I don't have to pass my exams. So I decided I'd have fun with them. This is a rewrite of the essay I handed in for my Business Law exam._

_This is also dedication to my good friend Kieran, who thrives on the sheer amount of bullshit that I come up with. I know I've shown you my notes for this essay, but you deserve to see the real thing._

_Enjoy._

* * *

**The Beginning;**

Despite popular belief, the Shinra Electrical Power Company didn't begin as a global monopoly in the power market. In direct contrast, Shinra had very humble, if ambitious, beginnings as a small weapons manufacturer known as 'Shinra Manufacturing Works'. At the time, Shinra was no more than a small, locally owned business which had dreams of becoming something more. With impressive determination and dedication, Shinra made the crucial discovery that the Lifestream itself, which coursed through the Planet giving life to it and everything which lived on it, could be refined into a very powerful energy source. Mako energy, as it became known, proved itself to be a very promising investment and quickly gained a large amount of support within the consumer market. As Shinra found itself with more and more influence and began to become the leading outlet of electrical power, the construction of the famed Mako Reactors began. The reactors were built in a variety of places throughout Gaia, including small towns Gongaga and Nibelheim, and were used to harvest the Mako energy from the Planet itself. Unbeknownst to the people of Gaia, Shinra had taken it's first step to becoming the global power of the Shinra Electrical Power Company that we known today.

**Expansion;**

With a growing market and rapidly increasing finances, Shinra found itself in a position for expansion of business. After consideration, President Shinra saw fit to set up the Space Exploration Department, headed by Palmer. With people becoming dependent on Mako energy, President Shinra soon found himself a global aristocrat and as such felt that it was necessary to expand further. The development of Shinra's private army began, and with it the ethically questionable start to create a race of elite super soldiers. It was quickly realised that it was possible to infuse Mako energy into living organisms such as humans. This fusion cause the affected humans to develop enhanced strength, speed and agility. Known as SOLDIER, this Department, headed by Lazard Deusericus, became a large part of Shinra and went on to become a sort of unofficial trademark of the famous company. Alongside the establishment of an army, Shinra also created a great number of other departments within the company. These included the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department*, commonly called 'Turks', the Weapons Development Department, the Science Department, The Urban Development Department and the Public Safety Maintenance Department. These Departments were initially led by Veld, Scarlet, Professor Gast Faremis, Reeve Tuesti and Heidegger respectively, though there were some changes to the Executive positions over the next years. Of particular notability within these departments are the Turks, who, as an Intelligence Department, commonly dealt with the less savoury aspects of the Shinra Electrical Power Company. These aspects included, but were far from limited to intel gathering, assassinations, kidnappings, black ops and photocopying.

**The War against Wutai and the Development of Midgar;**

Now holding almost supreme power over the running of Gaia, President Shinra ruled with an iron fist. Few dared to oppose him, and those who did suffered the wrath of Shinra. The nearby independent nation of Wutai were adamantly against the construction of Mako Reactors on their soil and made the displeasure known by refusing to allow Shinra access to their country. Infuriated that someone would stand against him, President Shinra declared war against Wutai, sending SOLDIER and the army to infiltrate the country. Back on home soil, Shinra began building the city of Midgar. Home to the Shinra Headquarters and eight individual Mako Reactors, Midgar became the undisputed capital of Gaia, despite it's general poverty and oppression of those who came to reside there. President Shinra ensured that he was in direct control of the city, though a figurehead Mayor was elected to ensure that the people felt like their opinion mattered in regards to the running of their city. Shinra's influence spread far and wide, and the President even began a propaganda news station, 'Shinra News' to glorify the acts of the company and to promote the ongoing war with Wutai in a positive light.

**The Jenova Project;**

During the following years, the company found itself enamoured with the old Cetra legends. The Cetra were a race who settled on Gaia many years ago, bringing life with them, and were by now virtually extinct. Their legends told of a fertile place called the Promised Land, which Shinra believed to be rich in Mako energy. Plans were made out depicting an intention to find this fabled Promised Land and expand to there, with the intention of building a new city, Neo-Midgar, on it's soil. However, Shinra was blind to the fact that the Promised Land was likely not a physical place, instead representing a place of supreme happiness. It is suspected that the Lifestream was viewed as the Promised Land to the Cetra race. Ignorant of this, Shinra began intensive research in the Cetra and the Promised Land. The research was led by Professor Gast, who went on to locate a live organism from a 2000 year old geographical site at the Northern Crater. Concluding that this organism to be a remaining Cetra, Gast returned to Shinra and began extensive experimentation on the specimen. Believing that a Cetra was need in order to find the Promised Land, experimentation began to create a new Cetra. Gast followed his research to Cosmo Canyon, Gast realised that what he had found was not Cetra, instead being an extra terrestrial life form called Jenova who had sought to eradicate the Cetra. Known to the Cetra as 'the Crisis of the Skies' and 'Heaven's Dark Harbinger' the calamity Jenova was an enemy to the Cetra. Gast, knowing that he had made a terrible mistake, fled from Shinra, though it was not the end of the Jenova Project. Two branches of the projects were set up with newly appointed head of the Science Department Professor Hojo leading Project S., and Professor Hollander heading the G. Project. The two branches competed bitterly against each other in order to create a new race of Cetra.

Project G. (short for Project Gillian) involved the injection of Jenova Cells into scientist Gillian Hewley, and upon the birth of the first known product of Project G., Genesis, Gillian's cells were then in turn injected into the child. The next child born from the G. Project, Angeal, was born directly from Gillian's cells as her biological child. Referred to as 'G-Type SOLIDER', both Angeal and Genesis seemed to be normal human beings, though over time the discovery of new abilities the two possessed proved otherwise. G- Type SOLDIERs possessed the ability to creates copies of themselves by implanting their own cells on living organisms. The Jenova Cells acted as a conduit to transfer many of the donor's abilities onto the host. However, the host would eventually succumb to degradation due to the Cells not being stable within their bodies. Both Angeal and Genesis also inevitably suffered from the degradation and were thus deemed failed experiments, though Angeal was viewed as an improvement due to his ability to not only transfer his own abilities to his copies, but receive abilities from them in addition.

Project S. (short for Project Sephiroth) used far more direct methods in order to introduce Jenova Cells to a living being. By injecting the cells directly into a human fetus, Project S. became the arguably more successful attempt to fuse human cells with those from Jenova. Because of the greater exposure to the cells, Sephiroth was a great deal stronger than his predecessors, and did not suffer from degradation as the others did.

However, upon discovering Jenova in Nibelheim years later, Sephiroth was driven to insanity, turning on Shinra and declaring war against the Planet in his 'mother's' name before disappearing into the depths of the Mt. Nibel Mako Reactor.

After the failures of Project S., Hojo went on to research what he called 'the Jenova Reunion Theory' which he tested on unwilling specimens, SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair and cadet Cloud Strife and others who had survived Sephiroth's massacre of Nibelheim.

The Jenova Reunion Theory indicated that when Jenova Cells were seperated, they would instinctively try to reunite themselves. With this in mind, Hojo injected his test subjects with Sephiroth Cells, causing them to turn into indirect clones of Sephiroth himself, though they gained none of his abilities. Due to the mental strain, most of these clones eventually ended up succumbing to the telepathic demands of Sephiroth and becoming mindless drones. Fair, on the other hand, suffered no noticeable effect from the cells, and Strife was able to maintain his free will unless directly influenced by Sephiroth.

**AVALANCHE;**

As the years went on, support for Shinra began to drop. Prolonged use of Mako energy proved to put a massive strain on the Lifestream and many viewed Shinra as ripping the soul from the Planet. Mako energy began destroying nature and wildlife, stripping the land of it's fertility. Due to this, rebel groups began to spring up throughout Gaia and Wutai. AVALANCHE and the Wutai Crescent Unit began the main two of these resistance groups. Established by an unknown individual who came to hate Shinra after a visit to Cosmo Canyon, AVALANCHE came to notoriety under the leadership of Elfé, who intended to bring about the end of Shinra. An eco-terroist group who believe that Shinra was destroying the Planet, AVALANCHE fought vehemently against the Turks for a long time before eventually discovering that Elfé is the daughter of Veld, the leader of the Turks. The command of AVALANCHE is handed scientist Fuhito, who causes the group to fall apart from the inside. What's left of the group is disbanded, with Elfé and Veld fleeing Gaia to escape from Shinra. Several years later, AVALANCHE is reformed on a much smaller scale by Barret Wallace, and the group become far more benign and less ruthless than their predecessors, mainly targeting Mako Reactors.

**Meteor Fall and the End of Shinra;**

Several years after his disappearance, Sephiroth returns. Infiltrating the Shinra Headquarters, he liberates Jenova from it's place in the Science Department and murders the President. Sephiroth, having learned of the 'Ultimate Destructive Magic' Meteor, seeks to call forth Meteor with the intention of damaging on place on the Planet badly enough that the Lifestream gathers there in order to heal it. He intends to place himself right in the middle of that specific area in order to absorb the power of the Lifestream and bending it to his will, thus making him into a God-like being. Sephiroth makes his way to the North Crater, a site of immense Mako energy. Shinra, now under the control of the late President's son, Rufus, pursue Sephiroth, believing that the North Crater is the entrance to the Promised Land. Sephiroth summons Meteor Fall despite efforts to stop him and the Planet releases it's own defense mechanisms. The Weapons begin fiercely attacks Shinra's sites of power, causing Shinra to launch the Shinra Rocket No. 26, built by pilot Cid Highwind in Rocket Town, in order to obliterate the Weapons and Meteor. This plan fails, and Shinra fall back on another contingency plan- The Sister Ray.

Built in Junon Harbour, the Sister Ray was an immense Mako Cannon powered by the Huge Materia. Upon a simulation wherein the power of the cannon's attack destroyed most of the ocean, the Sister Ray was moved to Midgar where it could be directly power by Mako. Shinra turned the cannon upon Diamond Weapon, unleashing a deadly source of power with destroyed the Weapon. As a last line of defense, Diamond Weapon delivered a massive energy blast to the Shinra Headquarters, causing the building to collapse and many employees to be killed. Believing that Rufus Shinra was amongst the dead, many of the Shinra Executives went Rogue, with Scarlet and Heidegger kidnapping Reeve Tuesti, though they were later killed by AVALANCHE. Professer Hojo attempted to assist Sephiroth through use of the Sister Ray, though he fails. Having injected himself with Jenova Cells, he morphs into a monstrous creature and is destroyed by AVALANCHE.

The surviving Turks seek to aid in the evacuation of Midgar before Meteor Fall, and as such assist former Turk and experiment of Hojo's, Vincent Valentine and daughter of Wutain Chief, Yuffie Kisaragi to evacuate as many civilians as is possible from the city. Meteor Fall continues, hitting the Planet and decimating most of Midgar.

**The Aftermath;**

Three years after Meteor Fall, Shinra are being blamed for the near destruction of the Planet. Rufus Shinra and the remaining Turks have gathered in Healen Lodge, a mountainous location between the newly constructed Midgar Edge and the Chocobo Farms. Driven by the wish to atone for their sins, the remaining Shinra employees seek to aid the Planet in it's attempt to heal. As Reno, Vice Director of the Turks states- 'The world was almost obliterated, and we were the obliterators'. It is also heavily implied that Rufus Shinra is the funder behind Reeve Tuesti's World Regenesis Organisation, a group whose primary objective is to aid in the restoration of the Planet, while also functioning as a replacement for the Shinra Electrical Power Company as an interim Government and Military.


End file.
